Park County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an apparent “road rage” incident that occurred on Tuesday just west of Ralston. At approximately 3 p.m. Tuesday, a sheriff’s deputy was eastbound on Highway 14A at milepost 17, when he saw a tractor trailer stopped in the outside lane of Highway 14A facing west.

The deputy immediately turned around and made contact with the driver, Joseph Lynn Henery, 55, of Norfolk, Nebraska. Henery was seated behind the steering wheel of the truck, breathing heavily and bleeding from a cut above his left eyelid and socket, according to the Sheriff’s Office.  

Henery said he was westbound on Highway 14A and had just passed through Ralston, when a small blue car came up from his left side and cut him off, forcing him to stop. He said he thought maybe one of his trailer tires had thrown a rock up and hit the persons windshield, according to the Sheriff’s Office.  However, the driver immediately exited his car and ran back towards Henery. He climbed up the side of Henery’s truck, opened the driver's side cab door, and before Henery could stop him, the man was on top of him.

Henery said the man was yelling at him for speeding through Ralston, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He said he was telling him to “slow down when you come through town." Henery said the man had him bent over the driver's seat and was wrenching his back while continuing to hit him in the face. Henery described the suspect as a white male, approximately 6 foot tall wearing a baseball cap. After the assault, the suspect drove off westbound on Highway 14A, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Henery refused medical treatment for his injuries. Anyone who witnessed this incident or has information about the assailant's identity is asked to contact the Park County Sheriff’s Office at 307-527-8700.